How bad is it on New Jersey Transit Rail?

So bad, the NJT Chief Compliance Officer (my client Todd Barretta) had to file a Federal Rail Safety Act whistleblower retaliation complaint after he was terminated for insisting the Railroad comply with FRA safety regulations. Here is the Bloomberg article.

So bad, NJT Rail employees who refuse to violate safety rules are charged with “malicious compliance.”

So bad, droves of the most skilled and experienced workers have fled to Metro North Railroad (of all places) for relief from the dysfunction.

The use of the term “malicious compliance” says all you need to know about NJT’s profoundly unsafe culture. But change is on the way. Declaring NJT “a national disgrace,” the new Governor is replacing the top managers and ordering a top to bottom audit of the entire Railroad. But the transformation of an entrenched workplace culture is never easy. It will be fascinating to watch this drama unfold. Stay tuned.

For more on the whistleblower rights of rail workers, see the free Rail Whistleblower Library.